Page 137 of Deadly Knight

His words replay in my head a few times until latching onto the part of my brain that once served as the foundation for my wall. It’s there, the fact brushes aside the leftover rubble, clearing my head for good.

There will be no future wall becausehe’sgone.

Tears prick the corner of my eyes and I stare at the note a bit longer. It’s over because Dimitri once again made it possible.

After a moment, I drag my gaze from the list to the building, our presence now making sense. After Ivan, there’s one more thing existing from that night.

“Oh.”

He reaches for my hand and strokes his thumb along my palm. “I want to destroy it—together.It’s why I bought the land, and why we’re here, but if you can’t, I’ll understand.”

It’s an easy decision and one given with little thought.

“I want to do this.”

Dimitri drives a bit closer before getting out and heading to the trunk. By the time I’m standing, he’s beside me with two large gas canisters.

I follow him near the building, already knowing I won’t be entering. There’s a limit, and seeing the interior is the max my head allows for. The mattressithappened on is in there. The chair they strapped Dimitri to. The ropes used. I’m notthatstrong.

“It’s just brick,” he murmurs, his knowledge of my heart and mind so profound, he knew exactly where my thoughts had derailed. “The building has no say on your well-being.”

“I know that.” It’s the only reason my feet continue moving.

Every step feels weighted on my chest, the memories threatening—hovering. I won’t give them power. Not this time. Not again.

Dimitri gestures for me to wait a few feet from the building. He props one canister outside and enters with the other before I can suggest another way of doing this.I’mnot going inside, but it’s not fair for him to either—to risk reliving it all over.

Six souls entered that night. None walked out.

Four lost theirs the second they raped me.

Dimitri lost his having to witness it.

I lost mine experiencing it.

What else has this building witnessed since then? Or were we the last?

Lost in thought, I miss when Dimitri exits the front door, his face a bit more resigned than earlier. He tosses the now-empty gas can into the building before reaching for the other and pouring a substantial amount by the doorway. He paces the side of the building, pouring more along the foundation before creating a path my way, some twenty feet away.

“The brick won’t go up easily. It’ll take a while.”

“Fitting. What they did to me took a while.”

Dimitri tosses the remaining gas tank near the car and well out of the way before retrieving a pack of matchsticks from his pocket.

“Ready?”

“Da.”

Ready for this place to die.

Ready for the past to remain here.

Ready to embrace the future.

“Light it up,moya dusha.”

I take a matchstick, rolling it between my fingers before scraping the red tip along the box’s bottom, the flint catching. The small flame warms the tips of my fingers, but since it’s meant for this house of nightmares, I drop it onto the gas line.